Tree Research Articles

Neighborhood inclusion posets and tree representations for chordal and dually chordal graphs

This paper is motivated by the following problem: given the family of clique trees of a chordal graph G, determine whether it is also the family of compatible trees of some dually chordal graph H. A relationship is established between this problem and neighborhood inclusion posets, i.e., the posets where the vertex-neighborhoods of graphs are ordered by inclusion. The problem of determining whether a given poset is the neighborhood inclusion poset of some graph is proved to be NP-complete. Finally, a polynomial time reduction is found from Neighborhood Poset Recognition to one variant of the initially stated problem, thus proving that the latter is also NP-complete.

Geographical variation and the response to hydrothermal factor of stable carbon isotope (δ13C) in Pinus massoniana.

We used 10 representative provenances at different latitudes in two 33-year-old Pinus massoniana provenance test stands (Chun'an Laoshan in Zhejiang and Taizi Mountain Shilong in Hubei) to measure the differences among provenances, study the geographical variation, and identify its responses to hydrothermal factors. The results showed that the δ13C of the average annual rings was significantly different among the provenances of P. massoniana, being higher in trees from high latitude than from low latitude. The δ13C of average annual rings showed a zonal variation trend, indicating an adaptation to the original environment. The δ13C of annual rings was negatively correlated with mean annual temperature (MAT), mean temperature in January (T1), annual precipitation (MAP), precipitation from May to September (P5-9) and cumulative temperature above 10 ℃ (CT). It was positively correlated with the aridity index (AI). The response function of AI toδδ13C annual rings in Chun'an and Taizi Mountain explained 37.5% and 42.5% of the variation, respectively, indicating that AI was the most important limiting factor. The Taizi Mountain test site in Hubei Province located in the central and western region with relatively dry soil and high aridity. Therefore, the δ13C of the average annual ring was 1.8% higher than that in the Chun'an test site. The δ13C rings of P. massoniana at the Taizi Mountain and Chun'an were sensitive to the temperature in July and August, respectively. Summer precipitation was the main factor for carbon isotope fractionation with stable rings. The sensitivity of different provenances to future climate changes was different.

Classification of chronic myeloid leukemia cell subtypes based on microscopic image analysis.

This paper presents a simple and efficient computer-aided diagnosis method to classify Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) cells based on microscopic image processing. In the proposed method, a novel combination of both typical and new features is introduced for classification of CML cells. Next, an effective decision tree classifier is proposed to classify CML cells into eight groups. The proposed method was evaluated on 1730 CML cell images containing 714 cells of non-cancerous bone marrow aspiration and 1016 cells of cancerous peripheral blood smears. The performance of the proposed classification method was compared to manual labels made by two experts. The average values of accuracy, specificity and sensitivity were 99.0 %, 99.4 % and 98.3 %, respectively for all groups of CML. In addition, Cohen's kappa coefficient demonstrated high conformity, 0.99, between joint diagnostic results of two experts and the obtained results of the proposed approach. According to the obtained results, the suggested method has a high capability to classify effective cells of CML and can be applied as a simple, affordable and reliable computer-aided diagnosis tool to help pathologists to diagnose CML.

Multidisciplinary study of the quaternary deposits of the Vila Nova de Gaia, NW Portugal, and its climate significance

Palynological, geochronological, and sedimentological analyses were conducted on samples from different depositional units of well-preserved marine, fluvial and palustrine sedimentary deposits from Vila Nova de Gaia located at the northwestern Portuguese coast. The studied deposits occur on two terraces: Terrace A—Lavadores (18 m to 33 m) and Terrace B—Canidelo (50 m). Chronological and sedimentological features allowed to date the deposits to the Upper Pleistocene until the last glacial period, being observed an evolution from a depositional setting in a marine intertidal zone, passing to a fluvial environment and ending in a palustrine/lagunar environment with possible periglacial influence. Pollen assemblages collected in the fluvial sedimentary horizons also suggested changes in the environmental conditions. A pollen content with good representation of arboreal species (Quercus, Pinus, Castanea, Fraxinus, Salix, Betula and Corylus), changed to a vegetation environment dominated by non-arboreal species, such as Poaceae, Plantago and Asteraceae. The top horizons, corresponding to a palustrine/lagunar environment, presented a pollen profile completely dominated by non-arboreal species, with minimal tree representation (Prunus, Quercus, Pinus and Castanea) which, combined with sedimentological characteristics may point to a more dry and cold climate than nowadays.

Spectral difference analysis and identification of different maturity blueberry fruit based on hyperspectral imaging using spectral index

Hyperspectral imaging, with many narrow bands of spectra, is strongly capable to detect or classify objects. It has been become one research hotspot in the field of near-ground remote sensing. However, the higher demands for computing and complex operating of instrument are still the bottleneck for hyperspectral imaging technology applied in field. Band selection is a common way to reduce the dimensionality of hyperspectral imaging cube and simplify the design of spectral imaging instrument. In this research, hyperspectral images of blueberry fruit were collected both in the laboratory and in field. A set of spectral bands were selected by analyzing the differences among blueberry fruits at different growth stages and backgrounds. Furthermore, a normalized spectral index was set up using the bands selected to identify the three growth stages of blueberry fruits, aiming to eliminate the impact of background included leaf, branch, soil, illumination variation and so on. Two classifiers of spectral angle mapping (SAM), multinomial logistic regression (MLR) and classification tree were used to verify the results of identification of blueberry fruit. The detection accuracy was 82.1% for SAM classifier using all spectral bands, 88.5% for MLR classifier using selected bands and 89.8% for decision tree using the spectral index. The results indicated that the normalization spectral index can both lower the complexity of computing and reduce the impact of noisy background in field. Keywords: spectral difference analysis, hyperspectral imaging, spectral index, band selection, blueberry fruit identification DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20191203.4325 Citation: Ma H, Zhao K X, Jin X, Ji J T, Qiu Z M, Gao S. Spectral difference analysis and identification of different maturity blueberry fruit based on hyperspectral imaging using spectral index. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2019; 12(3): 134–140.

Effects of regulated deficit irrigation on soil salinity, physiological processes and fruit quality of gray jujube under desert conditions.

Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) was applied to gray jujube trees in an oasis region, to determine the effects of this irrigation system on soil salinity, gray jujube physiological processes, fruit yield, and fruit quality. Treatments consisted of severe, moderate and low deficit irrigation (irrigated with 85%, 70% and 55% of CK, respectively) at the flowering stage to fruit set stage. During the other growth stages, all treatments were irrigated with 80% of pan evaporation, which was the same as that in control. The results indicated that soil salinity was enhanced during the periods of water stress, but the high value of soil salinity declined by 3.48%-37.27%, at each depth, after irrigation was resumed. RDI caused a decline in the photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance, but enhanced the water use efficiency of the leaves. However, the leaf photosynthetic rate was effectively enhanced after the recovery of irrigation, especially in the moderate deficit irrigation treatment, which exceeded the control. This led to an improved fruit yield, which was 9.57% higher than that of the control. The deficit treatments caused a significant increase in the soluble solid content, soluble sugar content, single fruit weight and sugar/acid ratio. Enhanced vitamin C content, resulting from deficit treatments, has also been observed in the gray jujube. Therefore, this research shows that RDI provides some benefits in the production of gray jujube trees in desert conditions. Keywords: regulated deficit irrigation, soil salinity, gray jujube, water use efficiency, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, soluble solid content, sugar/acid ratio DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20191203.4262 Citation: Liu Z P, Zhu C L, Wu S Y, Guo W H, Abudushalamu Y, Jiao X Y, et al. Effects of regulated deficit irrigation on soil salinity, physiological processes and fruit quality of gray jujube under desert conditions. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2019; 12(3): 52–59.

Energy Consumption, Emission Absorption and Carbon Emission Reduction on Semarang State University Campus

Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES) is a university with a vision of conservation. The impact of the UNNES conservation is the existence of a positive response from the community for the effort of greening the campus and the planting of conservation value in the academic community. But in reality, energy consumption in UNNES campus tends to increase. The objectives of the study were to analyze the energy consumption in the campus area, to analyze the absorption of emissions by trees and the awareness of UNNES citizens in reducing emissions. Research focuses on energy consumption, carbon emissions, and awareness of citizens in reducing emissions. Research subjects in this study are UNNES citizens (lecturers, students and employees). The research area covers 6 faculties and one administrative center building. Data collection is done by observation, interview and documentation. The research used a quantitative descriptive method to analyze the data. The number of trees in UNNES is 10,264. Total emission on campus UNNES is 7.862.281.56 kg/year, the tree absorption is 6,289,250.38 kg/year. In UNNES campus area there are still 1,575,031.18 kg/year of emissions, not yet absorbed by trees. There are only two areas of the faculty whose trees are capable of absorbing emissions. The awareness of UNNES citizens in reducing energy consumption is seen in change the habit of: using energy-saving equipment (65%); reduce energy consumption per unit (68%); do energy literacy for UNNES citizens (74%). UNNES leaders always provide motivation to the citizens of UNNES, to reduce and change patterns of energy consumption.

A new record of Scleroconidioma sphagnicola isolated from soil in Korea

A fungal isolate, designated KNU-JJ-1824, was isolated from a soil sample collected from a field on Jeju, Korea. Colonies of the isolates cultured on PDA, MEA and CMAD for 14 days grew to diameters of 49~51 mm, 60~63 mm, and 47~50 mm, respectively. The colonies of this fungal isolate were dark green in color on both sides, and had irregular margins on the PDA media. Mycelia submerged and exhibited clear lines from the center to the edge on MEA media. On CMAD media, they were dark brown to greenish-brown, with narrow white margins. The shape of the conidia was guttulate, fusiform or clavate, and 1.9~3.4 × 6.5~10.2 μm in size. A molecular phylogenetic tree was constructed using dataset from small subunit (SSU) rDNA and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, and the isolate was found to cluster with Scleroconidioma sphagnicola UAMH 9731. Based on the results of the phylogenetic tree analysis and the cultural and morphological characteristics, the isolate was identified as Scleroconidioma sphagnicola. We report S. sphagnicola for the first time in Korea.

The Impact of Environmental Factors on Housing Prices: A Case Study of Taipei Housing Transactions

Most research on housing price modeling only utilizes a single environmental factor. The goals of this paper are to select the appropriate factors and to identify the influencing patterns for 3 major types of real estates through model building that includes 49 housing factors. The datasets were composed by 33,027 transactions in Taipei City from July 2013 to the end of 2016. The models utilized were Decision Tree (DT), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Random Forest (RF), Model Tree (MT), and Multiple Regression (MR). The importance of each factor derived from the above 5 models is thus analyzed and ranked for the 3 housing types. Also, this paper adopts Generalized Additive Models (GAM) to derive the patterns of important factors influencing housing prices that includes increasing, decreasing, and non-linear relationships.

Variación en los patrones de crecimiento previo a la muerte de individuos de Austrocedrus chilensis a lo largo de un gradiente pluviométrico en el norte de la Patagonia Andina

Fil: Vega, Leticia Maria. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Departamento de Economia, Politica y Administracion Rural.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivologia, Glaciologia y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivologia, Glaciologia y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivologia, Glaciologia y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina

The tree of training

If you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, you are looking the wrong way.Barry CommonerFigure 1. The tree of training.As medical educators we are constantly searching for the right way to h...

Tree species and age groups classification based on GF-2 image

Tree species and age groups classification based on GF-2 image

Influence of Intercropping System in Unmatured Agarwood Plantation

The study was conducted to investigate the effect of intercropping system between short-term crops and karas trees on the growth of karas trees and the side income made by the karas planters after implementing the intercropping system. There were four treatment groups implemented in this study which include monoculture of karas(control), karas with chilli (T1), karas with okra(T2) and karas with corn (T3). The karas tree growth parameters measured were height (cm), circumference (cm) and leaves count. The production yield of selected short-term crops was weighed in kilogram and the net profit analysis was made based on the market price of chilli, corn and okra. The data collection for the growth of karas tree was done ‘before’ and ‘during’ the plantation of short-term cropsin the study site as well as ‘after’ the short-term crops were removed from the study site.Data analysis showed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) on the tree circumference after okra and chilliwere removed from the study plotswhen compared to the control group. Besides, chilliwas recorded with the highest net profit of RM 1857.60. Therefore, the intercropping of karas tree with short-term crops can generate profitable side income to karas planters and these intercropping practices are proven to have no negative impact on the growth ofkaras trees in the study site.

ALTERNATIF LOKASI PENGEMBANGAN KEBUN RAYA DAN EKSPLORASI TUMBUHAN HUTAN MONSUN MERANGGAS BERBASIS PETA DISTRIBUSI TIPE HUTAN DI NUSA TENGGARA

A study of alternative locality of botanic garden developments and flora explorations in deciduous monsoon forests based on forest type distribution in Nusa Tenggara has been carried out. The forest type distribution was allegedly obtained through overlay process of vegetation formation and satellite image of forest covering using software Arc-GIS versi 10.3. in Nusa Tenggara. A total of five forest types succeeded in mapping of Nusa Tenggara forests namely, evergreen rain forests (1008.77 km2), semi-evergreen rain forests (2944.98 km2), moist deciduous forests (6120.36 km2), dry deciduous forests (7955.18 km2) and thorn forests (93.07 km2). The existing forests in Nusa Tenggara reached 18122.36 km2 or 27.30%, in total. All of regencies/cities in Nusa Tenggara seemed appropriate to botanic garden developments, themed deciduous monsoon forests, based on habitat compatibility. At least each botanic garden developments covering an area of 10 ha consist of 500 species of potential trees collection. There are 58 coordinate point sites in which scattered in13 sub types of deciduous monsoon forests as a guide for exploration sites are recommended. It is about 487 species (trees, shrubs and woody plants) are potentially collected. Several large families are found such as Leguminosae (49 species), Malvaceae (28 species), Meliaceae (26 species), Moraceae (25 species), Rubiaceae and Rutaceae (23 species on each). A total of 59 species are listed in the IUCN red list, particularly four endangered species and 12 vulnerable species as put priority when conducting plant explorations.

PENGARUH INTENSITAS NAUNGAN DAN PEMBERIAN PUPUK ANORGANIK TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN SEMAI Hopea bancana (Boerl.) Slooten

Hopea bancana (Boerl.) Slooten is an important species of timber-producing trees. This species is endemic to Indonesia and is categorized as threatened plant (critical: Critically Endangered) based on the IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species 1998. Research and development on its silviculture aspects is very important as an effort to support the recovery of species and enrichment of the population in nature. This study aims to determine the effect of shade intensity and application of inorganic fertilizer (NPK) on Hopea bancana 's survival and seedling growth. The study was conducted with factorial complete randomized design consisting of 2 factors, namely: shade factor with 2 levels (50% and 75%) and inorganic fertilizer with 4 levels (0 gr, 3, gr, 4 gr, and 5 gr), so that 8 combinations of treatments were obtained. The survival rate was analyzed descriptively. Growth variables which included growth in height, number of leaves, leaf length, and root length were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that the shade intensity of 50% gave better results in the survival rate of the seedlings. Shade intensities and inorganic fertilizer factors showed very significant differences in plant growth and root length. The best results of growth parameters of plant height, leaf number, and leaf length were indicated by N350 treatment (NPK fertilizer 3 gr, 50% shade intensity), while root length was indicated by N050 (NPK fertilizer 0 gr, shade intensity 50%). Treatment of NPK 3 gr at 50% shade intensity tends to show the best results in the character of seedling growth.

Modelos ajustados para biomasa de culmos de guadus (Guadua angustifolia Kunth) individuales en rodales manejados en el su de Costa Rica

Este estudio tiene como objetivo ajustar datos de campo a modelos no lineares con el fin de predecir el crecimiento y estimar la acumulación de biomasa en plantaciones de bambú bajo manejo en sitios productivos. La plantación está ubicada cerca de la comunidad de Rio Claro en el distrito de Guaycará, Cantón de Golfito, Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Cinco rodales fueron identificados para el estudio, con tres de ellos utilizados para la calibración y dos para la validación de modelos. Una estratificación por cohorte de altura fue necesaria para organizar la base de datos a un mejor ajuste; a saber H1: 0 a 4 m., H2: 4,01 a 7 m., H3: 7,01 a 10 m., H4: superior a 10,01 m. Los datos de inventario se ajustaron mediante regresión no lineal a tres modelos de biomasa seleccionados utilizados en estudios anteriores de biomasa de bambú. Las variables predictivas utilizadas fueron diámetro, altura y área basal.&#x0D; La calidad de la predicción del modelo se probó mediante la prueba de Wilcoxon para muestras pareadas; la biomasa empírica de la base de datos usada en validación se emparejó a las predicciones modelo de los tres modelos. Las predicciones de los modelos Bm1, Bm2 y Bm3 no son significativamente diferentes de los datos empíricos (p = 0.7064, 0.7735 0.8822 respectivamente). Sólo Bm1 tiende a sobrestimar, pero el rango es aceptable para la predicción. Los resultados promedio obtenidos aquí son 12,49, 12,82 y 12,9 Mg ha-1 de biomasa en los modelos Bm1, Bm2 y Bm3 respectivamente, son mayores a los encontrados por otros autores en bosques de bambú Moso en el sur de China donde encontraron 8,13 ± 2,15 Mg ha-1 Año-1. Aunque la comparación es con otra especie y la edad máxima es diferente de la plantación (5 años en Moso en comparación con 3 años) se puede sugerir que, al igual que en árboles, se espera un rango de biomasa según edad, manejo y dimensiones.

The potential for pesticide trunk injections for control of thousand cankers disease of walnut

Thousand cankers disease, caused by the pathogen Geosmithia morbida vectored by the bark beetle Pityophthorus juglandis , has emerged as an important disease of walnut trees in Europe. The present study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of trunk injections of four commercial fungicides and one insecticide for control of the fungus and its vector. Laboratory tests indicated that fungicides containing prochloraz + tetraconazole were the most effective. Field trials on non-infected trees allowed for the selection of a mixture containing prochloraz and tetraconazole (Binal Pro), the insecticide abamectin (Vertimec EC) and the adjuvant 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy) ethanol (Carbitol TM ) as having rapid host uptake. Injections of this formulation in naturally infected black walnut trees reduced the presence of G. morbida , supporting trunk injection as an efficient and low impact technique to manage fungal damage on infected trees.

Pleurostomophora richardsiae associated with olive tree and grapevine decline in Southern Brazil.

Olive trees showing decline symptoms were reported in an orchard in Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil. The symptoms included foliar browning and leaf drop, dieback of twigs and branches, dark streaks in internal crown wood and necrotic lesions in bark. A grapevine sample exhibiting browning streaks in the vascular tissue of branches, trunk and roots, was also analysed. A Phialophora -like fungus was isolated from symptomatic tissues of both hosts, and monosporic cultures were established. Based on morphology and analysis of ITS, tub2 and tef sequences, the fungus was identified as Pleurostomophora richardsiae . Isolates inoculated onto young nursery olive trees and grapevines produced brown streaking in the wood in most of the inoculated plants. This is the first report of P. richardsiae occurring in olive trees and grapevines in Brazil.

Preliminary study on the management model of smart triage diagnosis of nervous system diseases

Objective To develop an effective decision tree management model for smart triage of nervous system diseases based on artificial neural networks and Bayesian decision theory. Methods Bayesian decision theory was used as the theoretical basis, and convolutional neural network was used to complete the rapid specialist / sub-specialist machine learning. For the specialist or sub-specialist triage data, circular neural network and Bayesian algorithm were performed to complete the probability distribution and convergence of disease symptoms and diagnosis. Results The decision tree management model and theoretical demonstration were established. According to the characteristics of the transfer learning, the rapid learning of nervous system diseases and accurate triage system, and the remote smart triage system were successfully constructed. Conclusions The management model could provide theoretical references for further use, and alleviate to some extent the currently high rate of outpatient appointment withdrawal and changes. Key words: Nervous system diseases; Smart triage; Artificial neural network; Bayesian decision theory; Management model

Epidemiological characteristics, genotypes, genetic relationships and macrolide resistance of 31 Bordetella pertussis strains isolated from infants and young children in Shenzhen

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics, genomic variations and macrolide resistance of Bordetella pertussis (B.pertussis)strains circulating in Shenzhen with clinical data analysis, genotype profiling, phylogenetic analysis and antimicrobial susceptibility test. Methods Clinical data of patients with pertussis in Shenzhen Children′s Hospital were collected from the electronic medical record system. Genome sequences of 31 B. pertussis isolates were analyzed with next-generation sequencing and de novo assembled. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was performed to identify their sequences types. Sequence alignment by BLASTn was used to identify virulence genotypes and mutations in 23S rRNA gene. A phylogenetic tree was constructed to analyze the relationships among them. E-test was used to identify macrolide resistance. Results All of the 31 B. pertussis strains were identified as sequence type-2 (ST-2) by MLST with diverse virulence genotypes. Two were prn-deficient strains. Based on the phylogenetic tree, all of the isolates were distant from vaccine strains. Nineteen isolates were resistant to erythromycin with A2047G mutation in 23S rRNA. Conclusions The virulence genotypes of B. pertussis strains in Shenzhen were diverse with increasing non-vaccine genotypes. Macrolide-resistant strains were prevalent. This study might provide reference for improving the prevention, management and vaccination strategy of pertussis. Key words: Bordetella pertussis; Next-generation sequencing; Genotype; Macrolide resistance